Tiny Mockingbird Terrorizing Greenpoint
- Staten Island Advance
- “What the fuck you looking at?”
Transmitter Park recently opened in Greenpoint, but lately visitors looking to enjoy its waterfront views and grassy lawn have been attacked. “On her lunch break, multiple mockingbirds greeted Angela Golinvaux mid-trek to the waterfront,” the Times reported. “’They were dive-bombing me, and flying at me, and perching and looking at me.’” Other people have been pecked, drawing blood. The reason? It’s nesting season, and the mockingbirds perceive these people as threats to their hatchlings. (The attacks should subside within days when the season ends.) Why are some people attacked more than once, on different days? BECAUSE MOCKINGBIRDS CAN RECOGNIZE HUMANS THAT THEY’VE PREVIOUSLY PERCEIVED AS A THREAT.
This isn’t new behavior for mockingbirds: since arriving in the city in the 60s, they’ve been known to attack a pedestrian now-and-again. But it’s unusual for them to take control of a park. “This is not your block!” one victim screamed at the birds as she ran away. Pfft, yeah! Go back to Ohio!
Follow Henry Stewart on Twitter @henrycstewart
